Cycle superhighway 9 route

Caroline Russell: A constituent has raised concerns that the new consultation for cycle superhighway 9 (CS9) will include re-routing the cycle lane along the A4, mixing people on bikes with high volumes of fast traffic and denying them a route that goes past local shops. Could you confirm that the route will not be directed along the A4?

The Mayor: There is no amended proposal for the scheme which involves it being re-routed along the A4. However, Transport for London (TfL) is in separate discussions with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham about how to improve the environment for cyclists along the A4 (between Hammersmith Town Hall and Hammersmith gyratory).
Transport for London is due to publish the response to the CS9 consultation shortly, which will set out the planned next steps.

Quality criteria in the Cycling Action Plan

Caroline Russell: To which schemes will the quality criteria be applied as a condition of funding, and will the criteria also apply to Safer Junctions projects?

The Mayor: Schemes that are to be signed as part of the strategic cycle network, which are currently at the Feasibility Design Stage or earlier, will be subject to a review using the Quality Criteria as a condition of funding. The process will only be Safer Junctions projects that form part of a strategic cycle network scheme.

Violence Reduction Unit (5)

Sian Berry: How does the Violence Reduction Unit plan to work collaboratively with other GLA teams, including: Education and Youth, GLA Economics, Housing, Planning, Regeneration, Social and Communities, to ensure there is a holistic approach to its work?

The Mayor: The Violence Reduction Unit is a partnership unit. The expertise and input of City Hall colleagues is already shaping the development of the VRU, as are external partners through the PRG.

Violence Reduction Unit (6)

Sian Berry: Does the Violence Reduction Unit plan to work the with the Serious Violence Taskforce that is chaired by the Home Secretary?

The Mayor: I want to ensure that the Violence Reduction Unit is supported by the broadest range of partners possible. Indeed, the Home Secretary has stated that violence is a top priority. I will continue to attend the Serious Violence Taskforce and will work with anyone who is committed to making London a safe and inclusive city.

Violence Reduction Unit (7)

Sian Berry: How does the Violence Reduction Unit plan to use the interim findings from the Youth Violence Commission to guide its work and plans?

The Mayor: Whilst I recognise that the Youth Violence Commission made national rather than regional recommendations, I value the learning that has come from the interim findings. These include greater investment in early intervention and prevention, support within schools, and investment in youth services, amongst other things.
I am pleased to say that some of the activity highlighted in the report was already in place in London, such as a focus intelligence-led stop and search, investment in community policing, and my £45m investment in youth provision through the Young Londoners Fund.
As the public health approach being taken by the Violence Reduction Unit will take evidence from a range of sources and data to inform its work and plans, including from the Commission.

27 Bus Route Consultation

Tony Arbour: Given that 72% of consultation respondents opposed TfL’s proposed changes to the 27 bus route, how can you justify proceeding with those plans?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) proposal to change route 27 was driven by a number of factors. Based on TfL’s usage data, the volume of buses per hour heading along Chiswick High Road towards Hammersmith far exceeds the numbers of buses required to serve the number of passengers. West of Hammersmith, average bus occupancy is around 16 per cent of capacity.
It is imperative that TfL runs no more buses than necessary, given the inefficiency and additional emissions, noise and potential congestion impacts of doing so. TfL needs to ensure it makes the very best use of public money, given that it now receives no operating grant from the Government, amounting to an average £700m per year reduction in funding. TfL, therefore, has to make sure that every mile of its bus service offers value for money.
Feedback provided to TfL’s consultations is one of many factors, including usage data, that affect decisions to modify bus routes, and is vital for the organisation to understand and consider the views of its customers. This consultation has helped TfL to better understand the concerns of customers along route 27, the problems that can arise from proposed network changes (e.g. the location of proposed additional interchange), and the means to mitigate these. TfL assures me there will still be more than enough capacity in the bus network to serve demand along this east/west corridor.

Facial recognition technology (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: How many (i) interventions/stops and (ii) arrests were made as a result of any true-positive, and false-positive matches?

The Mayor: Five alerts led to engagements (i.e. were followed up by officers). Four individuals were arrested; two of these arrests were as a direct result of the facial recognition technology identifying individuals wanted by police for violent offences. The other two arrests were proactive arrests as part of the wider operation.

Cardiff Model (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide an update on how many of the 29 emergency departments in London are currently (i) collecting and (ii) sharing violent data. Of those that aren’t collecting or sharing data, please provide the reason why they are not doing so.

The Mayor: All emergency departments in London apart from Chelsea and Westminster and St George’s are sharing data. Chelsea and Westminster have never shared data.
St George’s stopped sharing data in 2018 as a new information officer challenged the national data sharing standard on which ISTV information sharing processes are based, arguing that the standard was out of date and therefore no longer binding. My officers are asking St Georges to collect data even if they are currently not comfortable sharing it.
This issue has been raised with NHS Digital, who ultimately hold responsibility for the national standard and they are currently working on a revised version.
Once a revised version is in place, officers are confident that St George’s will share data again.

Cardiff Model (3)

Caroline Pidgeon: I understand that St. George’s Hospital Trust is no longer participating in data sharing. Can you confirm this and if so, what are the reasons for this?

The Mayor: The ISTV team is responsible for implementing the Cardiff Model, they have confirmed that St George’s are not currently sharing data.
As noted in the response to Question 2, the reason for this is due to a new post holder challenging the national standard on which ISTV is predicated.
MOPAC has raised the issue with NHS Digital who are in the process of revising the national standard to bring it up to date to reflect the position of ISTV and GDPR. MOPAC are hopeful that once this is done, data sharing will resume and GDPR does not pose a risk to this important issue.
Local Community Safety Partnerships have been updated about the issues.

Tottenham Court Road Pedestrianisation

Tony Devenish: How have you as Mayor ensured that Camden Councils plans to pedestrianise Tottenham Court Road won't simply increase air pollution in neighbouring Borough roads and threaten further retail and commercial jobs by accelerating the "death of the high street" which anti-car, anti-taxi measures in some commuter towns have witnessed?

The Mayor: The London Borough of Camden’s West End Project is an example of an ambitious project which will reduce road danger for pedestrians and cyclists. Tottenham Court Road is not being pedestrianised; restrictions will be in place at certain times of the day on general traffic. This, along with buses being able to operate in both directions, will improve public transport and footfall. Camden are creating a plaza outside the newly upgraded Tottenham Court Road station and a new park in a nearby street (Alfred Place). The changes will reduce motor traffic, improve air quality, and combined with the new public spaces, I believe the visitor experience of Tottenham Court Road will be greatly improved.
Camden and Transport for London’s traffic modelling indicates that the area can continue to function with less traffic, and without any significant negative impacts elsewhere.

Violence Reduction Unit (4)

Susan Hall: When is the Violence Reduction Unit due to become operational?

The Mayor: Work is underway to tackle violence across City Hall, the Met and with partners.
I announced the creation of the Violence Reduction Unit in September 2018, and have invested £500,000 in the mobilisation and development of the unit, on top of the services MOPAC commission, as well as the Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund. The VRU will build on existing work as well as undertake new programmes of work, developed based on evidence of what works, good practice, and in consultation with partners and communities.

TfL’s Passenger Journeys (2)

Florence Eshalomi: There will be an 8% bus journey reduction by 2023/24. What effect, if any, does the decision to cut bus services in central London have on the number of people choosing to use the bus service?

The Mayor: As detailed in its annual business plan, Transport for London (TfL) forecasts that the changes proposed in central London will result in a reduction in journeys of around one per cent.
One of the strengths of the bus network is that it can be adaptable and flexible when the needs of customers change. New Night Overground and Night Tube services are now up and running and there is record investment in walking and cycling. Jubilee and Northern line services have increased frequency, all of which, the bus network has responded to.
This flexibility will continue to allow TfL to reduce or remove services when demand is falling, while affording the opportunity to re-shape the network where it sees an increase in requirement, such as that in outer London. This approach ensures that TfL will meet the most current demand for bus services in London.
The recent introduction of my Hopper fare has also enabled TfL to optimise the bus network through use of interchanges, without financially disadvantaging customers.

Violence Reduction Unit (8)

Susan Hall: What is the progress of the Violence Reduction Unit's urgent review of homicides and serious crime in the capital and when is the review due to be published?

The Mayor: The scoping is underway. There will be several iterative elements to this work, and I hope to be able to publish early findings later in 2019.

Nationals of other EU countries [2]

Andrew Dismore: What estimate have you made of the impact of a hard Brexit on the GLA’s ability to recruit staff who are nationals of other EU countries?

The Mayor: The GLA has not formally estimated the impact of Brexit on the GLA’s ability to recruit staff who are nationals of other EU countries. However, I am disappointed that the Government’s Immigration White Paper did not address the concerns London businesses and I raised with the Home Secretary prior to its publication. In particular the proposal to end freedom of movement and restrict immigration to skilled people earning salaries over £30,000 simply won’t allow London to continue to grow its economy and provide crucial public services. I have since written to the Home Secretary to set out my concerns.

East London River Crossings (3)

Unmesh Desai: Please update me on the assessment work carried out for a Barking Riverside-Abbey Wood London Overground crossing.

The Mayor: An extension of the London Overground from Barking Riverside to Thamesmead is one of the options being looked at as part of the Thamesmead & Abbey Wood Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF), which the GLA is developing in conjunction with Transport for London, the local boroughs and other stakeholders. The draft OAPF will set out the public transport options and the likely growth which these options could support.
The public’s views on the OAPF will be sought through a public consultation later this year.

Diesel Scrappage Scheme

Joanne McCartney: How are you planning to advertise your welcome diesel scrappage scheme for micro-businesses in London?

The Mayor: My diesel scrappage scheme will be targeted at microbusinesses and will reduce the costs for them to comply with the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Transport for London (TfL) is finalising the details of the scheme now and full details will be published on the TfL website in the next few weeks.
We have undertaken an extensive engagement with businesses organisations and trade representatives as part of the ULEZ development and we will use these channels to ensure that small businesses are fully aware of the scrappage scheme.

Youth Violence in Enfield & Haringey

Joanne McCartney: Can you please update me as to any additional resources, such as officers from the Violent Crime Taskforce, that have been provided to Enfield and Haringey BCU(s) over the past three months to deal with rising youth violence?

The Mayor: As you know youth violence is being addressed as a matter of priority. Between the 1st of October and 31st of December 2018, the Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF) has been deployed to North Area BCU which includes Enfield and Haringey to target violence.
Specifically, over the period that you mention, there were 219 VCTF uniformed serial deployments, each comprising of 1 Sergeant and 6 constables and the deployments times were between 1600-0000 hours.
In addition to this, there were 110 VCTF proactive plain clothes deployments. This comprised of 1 Sergeant and 8 constables per proactive deployment. These deployments took place between 1000-2200 hours.

Appointments

Susan Hall: Can you provide me a list of everyone you have appointed to a role since you were elected Mayor?

The Mayor: Details of the appointments to my Mayoral team can be found on the London.gov website here: https://www.london.gov.uk/people/mayoral . This includes information about my Deputy Mayors, Mayoral Directors and Special Appointments.
Information about my appointments to boards can also be found on the London.gov website here: https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/governance-and-spending/good-governance/high-standards-conduct This details Principal Mayoral Appointments and includes appointments to a range of statutory and non-statutory boards, including the Mayoral Development Corporations and functional bodies.

Met Patrol Plus Scheme

Steve O'Connell: What options are MOPAC and the Metropolitan Police exploring in respect of the Met Patrol Plus Scheme, other than stopping it?

The Mayor: I am awaiting a revised proposal from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as to how local authorities may be able to fund officers for specific purposes.
Further information on the future of the scheme will be made available once the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) have received and reviewed these proposals.

Transport infrastructure programmes

Gareth Bacon: Provide a full list of transport capital infrastructure programmes that have been cancelled, rescheduled or postponed since May 2016.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has agreed to provide the Budget and Performance Committee with more details of its capital programme including how it has categorised and prioritised the capital programme set out in its current Business Plan.

East London River Crossings (1)

Unmesh Desai: When do you expect the Silvertown Tunnel, the Government's Lower Thames Crossing and the DLR to Thamesmead to have been delivered?

The Mayor: In May 2018, the Secretary of State granted approval for the Silvertown Tunnel linking the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks. This will improve the reliability of the Blackwall Tunnel crossing, increasing the resilience of the road network in east London, and enabling a step change in cross-river bus links. It is anticipated that the new crossing will be open and available for use in 2024.
The Lower Thames Crossing project is led by the Department for Transport and it recently undertook a public consultation on the latest plans, which closed in December 2018. The next stage of the project’s development will be to examine the consultation responses and produce an updated design, which will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for planning consent. Subject to statutory processes, construction could start in 2021, with the new road opening to traffic in 2027.
An extension of the DLR to Thamesmead is one of the options being looked at as part of the Thamesmead & Abbey Wood Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF), which the GLA is developing in conjunction with Transport for London, the local boroughs and other stakeholders. The public’s views on the transport options will be sought as part of a public consultation on the OAPF this year, and if there is the necessary support and funding, an extension of the DLR could be designed and built within the next ten years.

Intersectional Pay Gaps at City Hall

David Kurten: What is the average pay at City Hall of white men, black men, Asian men, men of other ethnic minorities, white women, black women, Asian women and women of other ethnic minorities?

The Mayor: Listed below is an extract from the Ethnicity Pay Gap report as at 31/03/18, published January 2019. This shows the difference between the average hourly pay of ethnic minorities and of White British people of those GLA employees in scope for ethnicity pay gap purposes. The GLA publishes its pay gap on an annual basis using snapshot data as at March of that year. This data is not broken down by gender as the GLA does not currently calculate its pay gaps in this way. To note, the average pay has been shown as an hourly amount to align with the figures provided in the pay gap report.
Headline Ethnicity Pay Gap - White/BAME
Ethnicity
No of staff
Mean
Median
Mean Pay Gap
Median Pay Gap
BAME (Black, Asian, Dual, Other)
214
£21.87
£21.62
17.35%
11.45%
Asian or Asian British
85
£22.60
£22.10
14.38%
9.23%
Black or Black British
83
£20.43
£18.40
22.77%
24.62%
Dual Heritage
33
£24.19
£24.41
8.56%
0.00%
Other Ethnic Group
13
£20.01
£20.07
24.36%
17.77%
White
641
£26.45
£24.41
Not Known/Provided
40
£24.95
£22.67
5.71%
7.14%

Wimbledon Police Station

Caroline Pidgeon: Given that the decision to close Wimbledon Police Station was judged as unlawful on 20th July, please provide an update on when we can expect MOPAC to make a decision reconsidering its closure.

The Mayor: MOPAC are considering the consultation responses relevant to Merton borough, ensuring all the material points raised are reviewed. Once this has been completed my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime will make a decision with due regard to all the points raised.

Tooting Bec Road

Caroline Pidgeon: I have been contacted by a Wandsworth resident who wishes to know if residents will have to petition again for road safety improvements to Tooting Bec Road, given that the petition submitted to your predecessor on the 3rd June 2015 resulted in a successful consultation for only approximately one third of the length of road (Aldrington Road to Dr Johnson Avenue) instead of through to Tooting Bec underground station as requested in the original petition.

The Mayor: A Safer Junction scheme is currently being developed for the Tooting Bec junction in the immediate vicinity of Tooting Bec Tube station.In addition, a scheme to reduce road danger is progressing between Dr Johnson’s Avenue and Riggindale Road. This is part of the Quietway programme and was consulted on in July to September 2017.
Transport for London (TfL) is not currently working on a scheme to reduce road danger along the entire section of Tooting Bec Road between Tooting Bec and Dr Johnson’s Avenue, as its resources are prioritised on other locations in London that have worse safety records. However, it will keep this section of Tooting Bec Road under review.

Nationals of other EU countries [1]

Andrew Dismore: How many members of staff in the GLA are nationals of other EU countries; what estimate have you made of the likely number who will return home in the event of a hard Brexit; and what are you doing to provide assistance and reassurance to them?

The Mayor: HR & OD do not keep records of the place of birth of staff and it is not compulsory for staff to provide details of their nationality. However, they can declare this information voluntarily.
Of the staff who have declared their nationality, 3% have declared that they are nationals of other EU countries and this figure has been used to estimate that, based on current staffing numbers, there are approximately 30 members of staff who are nationals of other EU countries.
The GLA has not formally estimated the impact of Brexit on the GLA’s staff who are nationals of other EU countries and the likely number who might consider returning to their country of birth in the event of a hard Brexit. However, we will continue to monitor the situation closely. I greatly value the contribution of these staff and I want to emphasise that London is their home and that they are Londoners. However, I also recognise that this is a deeply personal decision for them.
To recognise the value that EU nationals play in the GLA I want to ensure that they are informed of their rights and are provided with assistance and reassurance. To achieve this, a number of actions have been taken.
I have called on the Government to scrap the ‘settled status’ application fee for EU citizens, and if this does not happen, I have committed that the GLA Group will fund ‘settled status’ applications for employees.
A new European Staff Network group has been set up at the GLA to provide support to EU staff.
The 'EU Londoners Hub’ has been set up to provide useful online information about the settled status scheme.
I have reinforced my message that London remains a vibrant, diverse and open city by releasing a new video in the ‘London is Open’ campaign.

Intersectionality at City Hall

David Kurten: How many staff working at City Hall are white men, black men, Asian men, men of other ethnic minorities, white women, black women, Asian women and women of other ethnic minorities?

The Mayor: Listed below are the numbers of staff as requested. This is the position as at 31/03/18. More up-to-date diversity data can be found in the GLA’s workforce report, although this only shows overall BAME representation and is not broken down by different ethnic minority groups.
As at 31/03/18
Gender
Male
Female
Ethnicity
Asian or Asian British
35
50
Black or Black British
32
51
Dual Heritage
21
12
Other Ethnic group
6
8
White or White British
300
343

Patrol Plus Scheme

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide specific details of when local leaders of each borough were consulted on proposals to scale down the Metropolitan Police Patrol Plus Scheme.

The Mayor: As I have previously stated the Met Patrol Plus Scheme is under review and I am awaiting final proposals on its future from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
In the meantime, Basic Command Unit (BCU) Commanders have continued to engage with local authorities who have existing contracts.
Information on the future of the scheme will be made available in due course, at which time there will be further communication with local authorities to discuss the proposed changes.

Buses (2)

Florence Eshalomi: Bus service volume (million km operated) shows a 2.38% drop in inner London alongside a 2.34% increase in outer London over the next 5 years. Is this transfer of 2% of bus service volume enough?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is working to increase bus usage in outer London while maintaining network coverage in inner London. Based on TfL’s analysis, increasing mode share in outer London will not rely simply on a direct transfer of bus service volume from inner to outer London, but will also require making better use of bus resources in outer London.
This will help us to achieve a year-on-year increase in outer London bus kilometres, supporting my objective of increasing sustainable travel without adding unnecessarily to the bus subsidy.
For example, while services in outer London will see an overall volume increase, there will still be some reductions locally where services are under-used. Croydon town centre is an example of this, where Transport for London is currently working with Croydon Council to reduce the number of buses traversing the town centre that are not required. This is so that resource can be reallocated where it is more needed, elsewhere in the borough.
Bus service levels are relatively flexible and TfL will continue to review service levels across London based on shifts in demand in the years to come.

Cardiff Model (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: In response to Question no 2018/3021 on data sharing you said “MOPAC wrote to the Chief Executive and Emergency Department Consultant at Chelsea and Westminster about this on 10th September and are liaising with NHS England to try and progress this”. Please provide an update on the outcome of these discussions and whether you are confident that Chelsea and Westminster emergency department will engage in data sharing.

The Mayor: As the issues were not resolved by writing to the hospital, MOPAC officers escalated the issue of the non-compliance of Chelsea and Westminster to NHS England who in turn alerted the Clinical Commissioning Group who holds the contract for the hospital.
The CCG commissioners agreed to raise the issue of non-compliance in their contract monitoring meeting. The commissioners have said that should the situation not resolve after the contract monitoring meeting, they are willing to issue a formal notice of non-compliance to Chelsea and Westminster, if necessary.
MOPAC officers continue to liaise with NHS England and the relevant commissioners on this matter.

TfL Homes

Nicky Gavron: Areport,Out of Thin Air – One Year On, by WSP suggests that 280,000 homes could be built in London above railway and tube lines. Has TfL investigated this and what conclusions, if any, did they come to?

The Mayor: WSP did not consult with TfL before issuing their report and no detailed work was undertaken by WSP on any TfL sites.
TfL has arranged to meet the report’s authors to assess whether and how the findings can be applied to support TfL’s delivery programme.
TfLremainson target to build over 10,000 new homes on its land and will be making further announcements shortly about additional sites to be released to the market.

Spit Guards

Susan Hall: Will all front line police officers get access to spit guards, if not, why not?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service MPS currently utilises spit guards within a custody environment. Any decision to extend the use of Spit Guards to the streets, is an operational one for the Commissioner to make – following engagement with stakeholders.